Network protocol converter

ABSTRACT

An arrangement includes an input to receive DTMF tones, logic to convert the DTMF tones to SMPP protocol, and an output to provide the SMPP protocol.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to protocol conversion on a network.

BACKGROUND

Wireless telephones are popular, ubiquitous devices. It is now possibleto make and receive phone calls from almost any place in the world.Communication is even possible from remote and undeveloped areas usingwireless satellite telephones. Herein, the term wireless telephonerefers to any device capable of transmitting and receiving voice and/ordata (non-voice) information to and from a network without the use ofwires, cables, or other tangible transmission media. So-called cellulartelephones are a common example of wireless phones, as are pagingdevices.

Wireless telephones and pagers and the networks by which theycommunicate operate according to various technologies, including analogmobile phone service (AMPS), circuit switching, packet switching,wireless local area network (WLAN) protocols such as IEEE 802.11compliant networks, wireless wide-area networks (WWAN), short-range RFsystems such as Bluetooth, code division multiple access (CDMA), timedivision multiple access (TDMA), frequency-division multiplexing (FDM),spread-spectrum, global system for mobile communications (GSM),high-speed circuit-switched data (HCSD), general packet radio system(GPRS), enhanced data GSM environment (EDGE), and universal mobiletelecommunications service (UMTS). Of course, these are only examples,and other technologies may be employed in wireless communication aswell.

Herein, the term ‘wireless device’ is meant to include wirelesstelephones (including cellular, mobile, and satellite telephones),pagers, and also a variety of other wireless devices, including wirelessweb-access telephones, automobile, laptop, and desktop computers thatcommunicate wirelessly, and wireless personal digital assistants (PDAs).In general, the term ‘wireless device’ refers to any device withwireless communication capabilities.

Many companies produce wireless telephones and other wireless devices.Among the more well-known producers are Nokia®, Ericsson®, Motorola®,Panasonic®, Palm® Computer, and Handspring®. A variety of producers alsoprovide wireless devices comprising versions of the Microsoft® Windows®operating software.

“Terminal device” refers to any device employed by a user (typically aperson but also possibly an autonomous or semi-autonomous device system)to access the network environment.

Examples of terminal devices are wireless telephones, pagers, PDAs, anddevices that use conventional phone lines, such as Plain Old TelephoneService (POTS) phones.

A “service” is information and acts available via the network.

Examples of services include Short Message Service (SMS), email, andstock quotes. A “service provider” is any device or combination ofdevices that provides services via the network environment: Typically, aservice provider provides information delivery to terminal devices,and/or performs network actions in response to requests from terminaldevices. A service provider may also provide information delivery and/ornetwork actions on behalf of another service provider.

“Information” is configurations of matter representing knowledge, e.g.“data”. Examples of information are collections of magnetic or opticalbits. A “network element” is any one or more devices of a communicationnetwork, e.g. devices that participate at least occasionally in theoperation of the network.

Terminal devices may provide paging capabilities. A typical pager iscarried by a person and signals that person (e.g. by beeping or throughvibration) when the pager receives information. Often, the informationreceived is a telephone number or other identifying information forsomeone attempting to contact the person carrying the pager. Pagingcapabilities may be provided not only by dedicated paging devices butalso by wireless telephones and other wireless devices.

During a typical paging process, the person paging dials a phone numberor provides some other identifier of the person to page.

The information is provided as DTMF tones to a network element, oftenreferred to as a “paging terminal”, which converts the DTMF tones to aprotocol known as the Telocator Network Paging Protocol (TNPP).

The paging information may be communicated via TNPP among pagingterminals of one or more networks. Eventually the paging informationreaches a network that serves the person to page. There it is convertedto the Short Message Peer to Peer (SMPP) protocol.

SMPP is an efficient protocol for moving small amounts of datainformation (as opposed to digitized or analog voice information)through networks. The paging information is moved through the networkusing SMPP and delivered to the paging device of the person to pageusing, for example, the Short Message Service (SMS).

SMS, otherwise known as text messaging, mobile messaging, oralphanumeric paging, allows for the communication of short text andnumeric messages to and from wireless devices, as well as to and frompublic SMS messaging gateways on the Internet. A detailed description ofSMS is available as part of the GSM standard.

Another messaging technique that may be employed is Enhanced MessageService (EMS). EMS supports the capabilities of SMS to communicate shorttext and numeric messages, but also includes capabilities for thecommunication of other types of data, including sound, animation,graphics, and additional text-formatting capabilities. Yet anothermessaging technique that may be employed is Multimedia Message Service(MMS). MMS provides for the communication of video and other advancedmultimedia formats.

The multiple protocol conversions that may take place under theconventional paging process may result in inefficiencies and trafficcongestion during periods when a high amount of paging takes place.

SUMMARY

A brief summary of some embodiments and aspects of the invention arefirst presented. Some simplifications and omissions may be made in thefollowing summary; the summary is intended to highlight and introducesome aspects of the disclosed embodiments, but not to limit the scope ofthe invention. Thereafter, a detailed description of illustratedembodiments is presented in the description. One skilled in the relevantart can obtain a full appreciation of aspects of the invention from thesubsequent detailed description, read together with the figures, andfrom the claims (which follow the detailed description).

An arrangement includes an input to receive Dual Tone Multi Frequency(DTMF) tones, logic to convert the DTMF tones to Short Message Peer toPeer (SMPP) protocol, and an output to provide the SMPP protocol.

A Short Message Service Center (SMSC) receives the SMPP protocol andforms a Short Message Service (SMS) message. A switching network elementreceives the SMS message and routes the SMS message to a paging device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The headings provided herein are for convenience only and do notnecessarily affect the scope or meaning of the claimed invention.

In the drawings, the same reference numbers and acronyms identifyelements or acts with the same or similar functionality for ease ofunderstanding and convenience. To easily identify the discussion of anyparticular element or act, the most significant digit or digits in areference number refer to the figure number in which that element isfirst introduced.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a paging arrangement.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of an embodiment of a pagingarrangement.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a paging arrangement.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a paging arrangement.

FIGS. 5-7 are block diagrams of embodiments of portions of a networkenvironment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The invention will now be described with respect to various embodiments.The following description provides specific details for a thoroughunderstanding of, and enabling description for, these embodiments of theinvention. However, one skilled in the art will understand that theinvention may be practiced without these details.

In other instances, well known structures and functions have not beenshown or described in detail to avoid unnecessarily obscuring thedescription of the embodiments of the invention.

Herein, “logic” refers to any information having the form of instructionsignals and/or data that may be applied to affect the operation of aprocessing device. Examples of processing devices are computerprocessors (processing units), microprocessors, digital signalprocessors, controllers and microcontrollers, and so on. Logic may beformed from signals stored in a device memory. Software is one exampleof such logic. Examples of device memories that may comprise logicinclude RAM (random access memory), flash memories, ROMS (read-onlymemories), EPROMS (erasable programmable read-only memories), andEEPROMS. Logic may also be comprised by digital and/or analog hardwarecircuits, for example, hardware circuits comprising logical AND, OR,XOR, NAND, NOR, and other logical operations. Logic may be formed fromcombinations of software and hardware.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a paging arrangement. Atelephone 101 communicates paging information to a Public SwitchedTelephone Network (PSTN) 102. The paging information may identify aperson or device to page, and may contain additional information (suchas a callback number). The paging information takes the form of DualTone Multi Frequency (DTMF) tones. The PSTN 102 communicates the paginginformation to a second network 104. The second network 104 signals awireless paging device 110 via an antennae 130.

FIG. 2 is a more detailed block diagram of an embodiment of a pagingarrangement. The telephone 101 communicates paging information to thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN) 102.

The PSTN 102 communicates the paging information, in the form of DTMFtones, to a converter 202.

The converter 202 processes the DTMF tones into the Short Message Peerto Peer (SMPP) protocol. The converter includes an input to receive theDTMF information, logic to convert the DTMF information to SMPP, and anoutput to provide the SMPP to another network element.

The paging information is communicated using SMPP to a Short MessageService Center (SMSC) 204. The SMSC 204 forms an SMS message from thepaging information and communicates the SMS message to the secondnetwork 104, which signals a wireless paging device 110 via the antennae130.

Although shown separately for purposes of description, the converter 202and SMSC 204 may be comprised by the PSTN 102 and/or by the secondnetwork 104.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a paging arrangement.The telephone 101 communicates DTMF paging information to a Voice MailSystem (VMS) and/or Private Branch Exchange (PBX) 302. The telephone 101may communicate with the VMS/PBX 302 using analog or digital signaling.The VMS/PBX 302 communicates the paging information, in the form of DTMFtones, to the converter 202. The converter 202 processes the DTMF tonesand communicates the paging information using SMPP to the SMSC 204.

The SMSC 204 communicates the paging information as an SMS message tothe second network 104, which signals a wireless paging device 110 viathe antennae 130.

Although shown separately for purposes of description, the converter 202and SMSC 204 may in some embodiments be considered part of the network104.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of another embodiment of a paging arrangement.A first wireless device 402 communicates DTMF paging information to thenetwork 104 by way of a first antenna 430. The network 104 communicatesthe paging information to the converter 202. The converter 202 processesthe DTMF tones communicates the paging information using SMPP to theSMSC 204. The SMSC 204 processes the paging information into an SMSmessage. The network 104 communicates the SMS message to a wirelesspaging device 110 via the antennae 130.

By employing the present invention, paging terminals may be omitted fromthe network environment. The protocol conversion from DTMF to TNPP maybe eliminated. Eliminating TNPP traffic may substantially improvenetwork performance, due to the relative inefficiency of TNPP comparedto SMPP.

Embodiments of a wireless network will now be described in conjunctionwith FIGS. 5-7.

FIG. 5 shows a block diagram of the base station subsystem of a wirelessnetwork. The base station subsystem (BSS) 515 consists of base stationcontrollers (BSC) 520 coupled to one or more base transceiver stations(BTS) 525. In turn, each BTS 525 is coupled to one or more antennas 430,130.

The BTS 525 includes transmitting and receiving equipment to create aradio interface between the wireless network and terminal devices.Although the antennas 430, 130 are shown as separate elements forclarity, it is common in the industry to collectively refer to theantennas 430, 130, transmitter, and receiver, as the BTS.

The BSC 520 may perform management of the radio interface by allocatingchannels, managing handover from one BTS to another, paging the wirelessdevice, and transmitting connection-related signaling data.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the networking and switching subsystem(NSS) 635 of a wireless network. The NSS 635 comprises a MobileSwitching Center (MSC) 640, a Home Location Registry (HLR) 645, and aVisitor Location Registry (VLR) 650. Switching and network managementfunctions are carried out by the NSS 635. The NSS 635 may also act as agateway between the wireless network and other networks such as thePublic Switched Telephone Network (PSTN), Integrated Services DigitalNetwork (ISDN), the Internet, other wireless networks, and the PublicData Network (PDN).

The MSC 640 is a digital switching mechanism that routes communicationsand manages the network. In GPRS networks, GPRS support nodes (GSNS)such as Switching GSNs (SGSNs) and Gateway GSNs (GGSNs) may provideswitching operations similar to those provided by the MSC 640. There canbe many MSC 640 in a communication network, each responsible for thesignaling required to set up, maintain, and terminate connections towireless devices within the geographical area served by the MSC 640.Each MSC 640 may manage several BSC 520. The MSC 640 is coupled to aHome Location Registry (HLR) 645 and a Visitor Location Registry (VLR)650. The HLR 645 is also coupled to the VLR 650.

The HLR 645 may comprise certain dynamic or temporary subscriber datasuch as current Location Area (LA) of the subscriber's mobile stationand Mobile Station Roaming Number (MSRN).

Subscriber-related data is recorded in the HLR 645 from which billingand administrative information is extracted when needed by the cellularservice provider. Some wireless networks have only one HLR 645 thatserves all subscribers; others have multiple HLRs.

The MSC 640 uses the VLR 650 to manage the wireless devices that arecurrently roaming in the area controlled by the MSC 640. The VLR 650stores information such as the International Mobile Subscriber Identity(IMSI), authentication data, and telephone number of the roamingwireless devices. The VLR 650 may obtain and comprise subscriberinformation, such as information about the services to which a roaminguser is entitled, from the HLR that serves the wireless device. The VLR650 controls a pool of MSRN and allocates an MSRN and TMSI to theroaming wireless device. The VLR 650 sends the MSRN and Temporary MobileSubscriber Identity (TMSI) information to the HLR 645 where they arestored with the subscriber's dynamic records for later use in callrouting.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the operation subsystem (OSS) 755 of awireless network 102. The OSS 755 includes an Equipment IdentityRegister (EIR) 760, an Authentication Center (AuC) 765, and an Operatingand Maintenance Center (OMC) 770. The OSS 755 may provide subscriptionmanagement, network operation, network maintenance, and mobile equipmentmanagement. The OSS 755 extracts call data from the HLR 645 in order tobill the subscriber.

The AuC 765 stores data related to network security and authenticationof wireless devices and subscribers. The primary purpose of AuC 765 isto prevent fraud by verifying the identity of wireless devices andsubscribers that try to access the network. Thus the AuC 765 maycomprise authentication algorithms and encryption codes necessary toprotect a subscriber's access rights and identity and to preventeavesdropping.

The EIR 760 is a database which stores subscriber and InternationalMobile Equipment Identity (IMEI) numbers. Wireless devices are uniquelyidentified by an IMEI or equivalent number such as an Electronic SerialNumber (ESN). An EIR 760 generally indicates the status of a particularwireless device by flags associated with its IMEI. An IMEI is typicallyflagged as one of either valid, stolen, suspended, or malfunctioning.

The OMC 770 monitors and controls other network elements to enhancesystem performance and quality. The OMC 770 also administers billing,subscriber service data, and generation of statistical data on the stateand capacity of the network.

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, throughout thedescription and the claims, the words “comprise,” “comprising,” and thelike are to be construed in an inclusive sense as opposed to anexclusive or exhaustive sense; that is to say, in the sense of“including, but not limited to.” Words using the singular or pluralnumber also include the plural or singular number respectively.Additionally, the words “herein,” “above,” “below” and words of similarimport, when used in this application, shall refer to this applicationas a whole and not to any particular portions of this application. Whenthe claims use the word “or” in reference to a list of two or moreitems, that word covers all of the following interpretations of theword: any of the items in the list, all of the items in the list and anycombination of the items in the list.

1. An arrangement comprising: an input to receive DTMF tones; logic toconvert the DTMF tones to SMPP protocol; and an output to provide theSMPP protocol.
 2. The arrangement of claim 1 further comprising: a ShortMessage Service Center to receive the SMPP protocol and to form a ShortMessage Service (SMS) message.
 3. The arrangement of claim 2 furthercomprising: a switching network element to receive the SMS message andto route the SMS message to a paging device.
 4. A method comprising:receiving DTMF tones; converting the DTMF tones to SMPP protocol; andproviding the SMPP protocol to a Short Message Service Center.
 5. Themethod of claim 4 further comprising: p1 receiving the DTMF tones from aPublic Switched Telephone Network.
 6. The method of claim 5 furthercomprising: forming a Short Message Service (SMS) message from the SMPPprotocol.
 7. The method of claim 6 further comprising: communicating theSMS message to a paging device.
 8. A method comprising: a first pagingdevice providing paging information as DTMF tones; a first networkelement converting the DTMF tones to SMPP protocol; a second networkelement converting the SMPP protocol to an SMS message comprising thepaging information; and providing the SMS message to a second pagingdevice.
 9. The method of claim 8 further comprising: the first pagingdevice providing the DTMF tones to a Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN); and the PSTN communicating the DTMF tones to the network elementto convert to SMPP protocol.
 10. The method of claim 8 furthercomprising: the first paging device providing the DTMF tones to one of aVoice Mail System (VMS) and a Private Branch Exchange (PBX); and the oneof VMS and PBX communicating the DTMF tones to the network element toconvert to SMPP protocol.